I remember my childhood dentist had a sega and like 5 games in his waiting room for kids to play. I tried Ecco and just couldn’t figure out what to do aside from scream at the tutorial dolphins hanging around. Usually I just went back to Sonic 2, but sometimes I played the 7up guy’s game
Ecco was such an atmospheric game I think it was supposed to inspire a sense of discovery, but it had so many wonky mechanics and unexplained puzzles. I still like it, but I will probably never beat it. Although, I wasn’t a die hard Sega guy at this point.
A classic arguably harder than all the Contras and Battletoads combined. But if you persevered (or… no, AND used some guides, none of them relieved you of much perseverance here), you were rewarded with one absolute heck of a game. Literal dolphins travelling in time and fighting in-all-but-name xenomorphs? Nowhere else.
Definitely a highlight of NSO’s expansion pack because the combination of save states and rewinds should feel like an even bigger blessing here than it did in SMB Lost Levels or Zelda 2.
There is a mission later in the game where you have to do something for the lady dolphin and after enough failed attempts she literally does it for you. At the time I thought that was the coolest thing ever (I was like 10 or 11 yrs old) and formed me as the man I would later become… If I suck at everything then everyone will do stuff for me! Yay! /s
We only had Nintendo consoles at home, but my dentist had a Genesis kiosk that included Ecco (so no manual).
Every year I would look forward to the visit, simply because I could finally get out of area one in Ecco, and every year I ended up swimming back and forth not knowing what the flip to do and would eventually switch over to X-Men. The days before the internet where I could have just looked it up.
But, I had clean teeth after that, so I guess its fine.
There are two types of Ecco the Dolphin players. Those who never made it past the first level and those who went far enough to get traumatised by the end.
You are supposed to do a bunch of LSD and jerk off a dolphin before starting the first level. The rest will make sense afterward. John C. Lilly demands your sacrifice.
You have to find the secret water tank exit with a human waiting to give you LSD, show you flash cards and slap your tuna when you don’t seem like you’re paying attention.
What you expected was fun dolphin game, what you got was Lovecraftian cosmic horror, time travel, ancient cities, thalassophobia, Pink Floyd, and whatever the fuck the Asterite is.
If I remember you have to jump super high
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/genesis/563323-ecco-the-dolphin/faqs/31465
Old games were so much harder lol
No one does, the whole game is that one area and the abiding feeling that you’re just not as smart as other people.
Meh. “I can’t wait to be king” level on the Lion King.
Dude that game takes some wild turns, especially at the end
Wait you can go past the first area?
I remember my childhood dentist had a sega and like 5 games in his waiting room for kids to play. I tried Ecco and just couldn’t figure out what to do aside from scream at the tutorial dolphins hanging around. Usually I just went back to Sonic 2, but sometimes I played the 7up guy’s game
Thank GOODNESS I’m not the only one!
It’s easy! All you had to do was
There’s more than one area?
Yup stuck on the first level but still had a great time playing it.
Ironically, once you know how to get out. You’ll wish you never left.
I couldn’t believe how stupid hard that game became. Never finished it, and never will.
This and the Lion King game caused a lot of frustration in young me.
Must have played this 3 dozen times when I was younger not knowing wtf to do
Holy shit. This brought back some trauma.
There were areas? 😲
I still consider this a horror game.
Right? Also the answer is to swim real fast and jump free Willy style over the rocks to the other side. Took me years to figure out.
Ecco was such an atmospheric game I think it was supposed to inspire a sense of discovery, but it had so many wonky mechanics and unexplained puzzles. I still like it, but I will probably never beat it. Although, I wasn’t a die hard Sega guy at this point.
I did on accident as a kid. The game got much less fun in that second zone.
A classic arguably harder than all the Contras and Battletoads combined. But if you persevered (or… no, AND used some guides, none of them relieved you of much perseverance here), you were rewarded with one absolute heck of a game. Literal dolphins travelling in time and fighting in-all-but-name xenomorphs? Nowhere else.
Definitely a highlight of NSO’s expansion pack because the combination of save states and rewinds should feel like an even bigger blessing here than it did in SMB Lost Levels or Zelda 2.
Sega channel.
But it was a lot of fun trying! If I remember correctly….
And there’s this bit where you have to talk to a wall
This game scared the hell out of 7/8 year old me
God I have no idea how 7 year old me breezed through that back in the day.
Watch a speedrun of it, and cry.
There’s a second area?
There is a mission later in the game where you have to do something for the lady dolphin and after enough failed attempts she literally does it for you. At the time I thought that was the coolest thing ever (I was like 10 or 11 yrs old) and formed me as the man I would later become… If I suck at everything then everyone will do stuff for me! Yay! /s
Recently did a deep dive on this game. Watched youtube playthroughs and read the wiki. The story is insane.
If you send proof you’ve beaten the game to the creator on Twitter, he’ll add you to a special list of Ecco winners 🙂
Wait until you get to the underground caves. Fuck that zone.
This game had such an amazing soundtrack
Swim slowly past the 8 arms
The dark souls of dolphin time travel alien games.
We only had Nintendo consoles at home, but my dentist had a Genesis kiosk that included Ecco (so no manual).
Every year I would look forward to the visit, simply because I could finally get out of area one in Ecco, and every year I ended up swimming back and forth not knowing what the flip to do and would eventually switch over to X-Men. The days before the internet where I could have just looked it up.
But, I had clean teeth after that, so I guess its fine.
There are two types of Ecco the Dolphin players. Those who never made it past the first level and those who went far enough to get traumatised by the end.
There’s a welcome to the machine music video in this game
I &*(@#$ing loved this game!
You are supposed to do a bunch of LSD and jerk off a dolphin before starting the first level. The rest will make sense afterward. John C. Lilly demands your sacrifice.
You have to find the secret water tank exit with a human waiting to give you LSD, show you flash cards and slap your tuna when you don’t seem like you’re paying attention.
How to get past the first are >!get past the first are!<
I love how the cover art looks like an Asia album
Fun fact. You can play this online for free! Just google it yourself. I’m not your dad.
This had great reviews, but to this day I am convinced it’s because the reviewers didn’t know how to play it either
The final boss is terrifying btw, it’s a good thing you didn’t get there
I still get angry thinking about those sky levels with water tubes. So many rage quits. Though that might have been the second Ecco, not sure.
This is where my deathly fear of Octopus originated from…
What you expected was fun dolphin game, what you got was Lovecraftian cosmic horror, time travel, ancient cities, thalassophobia, Pink Floyd, and whatever the fuck the Asterite is.